Mom or Dad are still at home but they can’t take care of themselves. Mom or Dad want to stay in their home. Mom or Dad need assistance but the question is, who is going to give them assistance?
It is estimated that 75% of in-home caregivers are family members. I have known some family members who have quit their jobs just so they could stay at home with Mom or Dad. But if you are the primary caregiver and can’t quit work to care for Mom or Dad, who are you going to choose?
You hear from friends and acquaintances about so-and-so or so-and-so who is looking for a job. These individuals would be more than happy to help out in Mom or Dad’s home and will work for cheap. There are however, some downfalls about hiring someone directly to take care of Mom or Dad instead of through a home care service agency.
Firstly, if you hire an individual, they generally do not have backups. If they get sick, have a car accident or have problems with their family, then you may be scrambling at the last minute to find someone to watch Mom or Dad. You may end up having to take a vacation or personal day if you can not get anyone.
Secondly, many homeowners insurance policies do not cover injuries to workers in the home. Those injuries generally should be covered by a workers compensation policy. So if your caregiver has a slip and fall in the home and the homeowners insurance does not cover it, Mom or Dad or you may be personally liable for the injury.
Thirdly, if you do not complete criminal, credit, background and driving records checks, the person that you hire may not be the most trustworthy. They may have a history of physical or sexual abuse. If you do not bond them and they steal things from Mom or Dad or take Mom or Dad to the bank to withdraw funds, you may not be able to recover the stolen amounts.
Lastly, most in-home caregivers you hire directly are considered household employees under the Internal Revenue Code. As such, you may be required to withhold Social Security, Medicare, and income taxes from their paychecks and/or pay the withholdings over to the taxing authorities on a regular basis. You may also have to pay employer payroll taxes including Social Security and Medicare to the tune of 7.65% of their gross pay. Federal and State unemployment insurance may also have to be paid so when the caregivers are no longer working for you because they are either laid off or terminated, they can collect unemployment.
If you do not verify their employment eligibility, you may be subject to fines and penalties. All employers are required to complete Immigration Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification. If you fail to complete the form and/or hire persons not eligible to work in the United States, you could be subject to criminal penalties and thousands of dollars in fines.
And if you don’t treat them as employees when you should, they may be able to come back years later to report you to the IRS and/or sue you for payroll taxes and withholdings that you failed to withhold or pay over on their behalf. In addition, there could be penalties and interest that the IRS would be more than happy to assess.
Probably the best thing to do, the safest and in the long run likely the most economical, would be to hire a home care service agency to care for Mom or Dad. Investigate these services. Most services do extensive background checks and bond their employees. If the primary caregiver is unable to make it, the agencies have backup staff that can fill in at a moment’s notice and are on call 24/7.
These caregivers are not your employees. They are employees of the service. You do not have to carry workers compensation, unemployment insurance or do withholdings or incur payroll taxes. You generally just pay a set fee to the service and they take care of all employer expenses so that you don’t have to. All you have to worry about is Mom or Dad’s care.
There is a variety of services that you can hire out to these homecare agencies. Interview them. Get fee schedules. Find out which ones would be the best fit for Mom or Dad. What do you need help for? Some services are better in some areas than others. What are some of the things that they can do? Services could include:
- grooming and dressing
- light housekeeping
- recreational activities
- handyman services
- respite for family caregivers
- teeth brushing
- caring for houseplants
- medication reminders
- companionship
- bathing or showering
- meal preparation
- incontinent care
- errands and shopping
- transportation services
- reading emails, letters, books, papers and magazines
- overseeing home deliveries
- laundry and ironing
By finding the appropriate caregivers to provide the appropriate services, you can keep Mom or Dad happier in their own home for a longer period of time.
By: Matthew M. Wallace, CPA JD
Published edited July 19, 2009 in The Times Herald newspaper, Port Huron, Michigan as: Research to find in-home caregivers